1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to ballistic armor shielding for military armored vehicles operating in combat zones, hostile environments and extreme weather conditions, and in particular, to a three sided (front, left and right) ballistic armor shielding for a Stryker armored vehicle to provide the driver with maximum safety when operating the vehicle with the driver hatch open, partially open or closed.
2. Description of Related Art
Stryker or other military armored vehicle original designs provide for a mud shield when operating the vehicle with the hatch open, partially open, or with the hatch closed. The driver views the terrain through a periscope or small monitor from inside the vehicle. Limitations to this design include the driver either being open to attack while driving with the hatch open and/or the driver having a limited view of his environment with blind spots while operating with the hatch closed. The driver of a military vehicle needs to safely maneuver brigade combat teams in close and urban environments as well as open terrain.
Given these limitations, most military armored vehicle drivers operate the vehicle with the hatch open so that they can better view the terrain around them, and this leaves the driver totally exposed to enemy attack. When the hatch is closed, the driver experiences blind spots when operating the armored vehicle. If the driver is in harms way, then his entire vehicle crew and its contents are at high risk.
Various hatch cover arrangements are known in the prior art such as the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,323, issued Apr. 3, 1973 to Wolfgang H. Selle, discloses a rotatable hatch cover for an armored vehicle having five (5) windows, and a collar which co-operatively engages the hatch cover to fully enclose the hatch opening. The hatch cover is rotatably mounted to a pair of pivot bearings about a central axis of rotation and the hatch cover pivots into the hatch opening adjacent to and inside of the armored collar to provide an unobstructed hatch opening. However, there is no protection for an operator looking out when the hatch cover is raised.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,494, issued Jan. 25, 1977 to André Mechulam, et al., discloses a military observation post such as a roof of a turret of an armored vehicle having an opening allowing passage of at least the head of an operator. The opening is closed by a transparent cover of plastic material and the transparent cover is covered by an armored hatch cover having a hemispherical shape. The transparent cover is fixed to the frame adapted for being seated on a rim surrounding the operation opening, and the armored cover and the frame are articulated on a common axle fixed to the roof proximate to the periphery of the frame. However, when the armored hatch cover is closed, the operator has no visibility through the hatch cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,444, issued Apr. 22, 1986 to Theodore A. Jackson, shows an armored vehicle with a rotatable swing away turret. The turret comprises a pair of weapons and an observation dome having a plurality of windows with limited visibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,616, issued Mar. 3, 1987 to Hakan Svensson, shows an armored hatch cover for a combat vehicle which is pivotally mounted between an open position and a closed position. The cover is pivotally supported on a bolt behind the cover by means of two arms. When the cover is in an open position, a small annular gap is formed which provides a substantially narrow all-around view.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,447, issued May 3, 2005 to Jeffrey Crotty, et al., shows a hatch assembly for a portal of an armored vehicle comprising a structure defining the portal of an armored vehicle, a hatch positionable over the portal, and a hatch operating mechanism assembly coupled to said hatch for shifting the hatch between a first position covering the portal and a second position clearing the portal. However, when the portal is open, there is no protection for personal.